Kathleen Funchion (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein)
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459. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the plans for Irish Water to take over water services from the local authorities going forward; the impact that this will have on job retention; the provisions that are made regarding redundancy in cases in which a person is over 60 years of age and cannot be redeployed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37964/22]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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The recent identification of a Framework for the future of Water Services under the aegis of the Workplace Relations Commission will enable Irish Water to work in conjunction with local authorities and current water services staff to complete the integration of public water services into its own organisational structure, as envisaged in the Government’s Policy Paper on Water Sector Transformation (February, 2021).

The Framework will impact on around 3,200 staff currently serving in the local government service. It is important to note that any transfers of staff to become permanent employees of Irish Water will be on a voluntary basis, and will have no implications for the security of tenure of the staff concerned.

Water services staff who choose not to transfer to Irish Water will remain in the direct employment of their current local authority. They may continue to work in water services, under the management and direction of Irish Water, until 31 December 2026. Local authorities will no longer have any involvement in the direct provision of water services to the public beyond that date.

Further opportunities for staff who do not seek to transfer to Irish Water will be identified during the transition period, including reassignment, redeployment (within the wider public service where feasible), upskilling and training programmes.

Finally, a Voluntary Redundancy scheme will be made available during 2024 to relevant local authority water services staff members who at 30 June 2024 are under preserved pension age and have already accrued entitlement to preserved superannuation benefits under a local government scheme.